Who: Amber Iman, Danielle Brooks, Alia Jones-Harvey, Audra McDonald, Lillias White, Pilin Anice, Jamila Souffrant, Rashad V. Chambers, Lelund Durond, DJ Cocoa What: All-day virtual conference presented by Black Women on Broadway Where: Online (information given after registration) When: Monday, June 29, free with advance RSVP, noon – 10:00 pm Why: On June 19, I watched the inaugural Antonyo Awards, and it was an eye-opening experience. Sponsored by Broadway Black, the evening celebrated the best of the Black theater community, from actors, writers, and directors to composers, designers, and special honorees. I’ve seen a lot of awards shows, but never one quite like this one, which was by, about, and for the Black community. The presenters and winners made speeches that they probably couldn’t do at the Tonys, the Obies, or the Drama Desk Awards; accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award, Chuck Cooper said, “I am honored, and more than a bit surprised, by this. At this point in my life, it feels like my major achievement was to survive long enough to reach this age being a Black man in America.”
On June 29, Black Women on Broadway, an organization founded by Amber Iman, Jocelyn Bioh, and Danielle Brooks, is hosting the all-day virtual conference “Black Women in Theatre Appreciation Day,” consisting of more than ten hours of panel discussions, interviews, and a closing dance party, chosen through a poll of thirty artists who were asked, “What do you need?” The lineup features “Meditation & Movement” with Pilin Anice at noon, “Money Talks!” with Jamila Souffrant at 1:15, “Producing” with Alia Jones-Harvey and Rashad V. Chambers at 2:30, “Mastering the Art of the Self-Tape” with Lelund Durond at 3:45, “Girl Talk on Zoom” with Amber Iman at 5:00, “The Main Event” with Lillias White and Audra McDonald at 6:30, and “Ladies Night: Let’s Dance!” with DJ Cocoa at 8:00, with Brooks serving as conference moderator.
Who: Andre J., Tyler Ashley (aka the Dauphine of Bushwick), Raja Feather Kelly, Bill T. Jones, Migguel Anggelo, Bubble_T, DJ Shirine Saad’s Gyal Tings, the House of LaBeija, the Illustrious Blacks, OOPS!, RAGGA NYC, Papi Juice, Switch n’ Play What: Virtual Pride party Where:BAM,New York Live Arts When: Saturday, June 27, free (donations accepted), 8:00 Why: BAM and New York Live Arts will celebrate Pride together with the virtual House Party with Everybooty. The livestreamed event, taking place June 27 at 8:00, was inspired by a creator they have in common: dancer, choreographer, and activist Bill T. Jones, NYLA’s artistic director and whose troupe, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, has been performing at BAM for more than three dozen years. The festivities will include music, dance, storytelling, drag, video collages, and more by a diverse group of queer performance artists, musicians, dancers, choreographers, and more. Among the participants in the eighth annual Everybooty are Tyler Ashley (aka the Dauphine of Bushwick), Raja Feather Kelly, Migguel Anggelo, Bubble_T, DJ Shirine Saad’s Gyal Tings, the House of LaBeija, the Illustrious Blacks, and Papi Juice. In addition, beginning June 25, BAM will be streaming twelve archival works by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, from Secret Pastures (1984), The Animal Trilogy (1986), A Letter to My Nephew (2017) and Still/Here (1994) to We Set Out Early . . . Visibility Was Poor (1998), The Flight Project (2003), A Rite (2013), and A Quarreling Pair (2008). “BAM and Live Arts stand proud of their LGBTQIA legacies and in solidarity with those fighting to dismantle systemic racism and end violence against Black and brown people,” the two organizations said in a statement. The party is free, but donations will be accepted, with proceeds split between Callen-Lorde Community Health Center,GRIOT Circle, and Black Trans Femmes in the Arts.
Horizon Line will be part of Streb fundraiser “Action Heroes: Home Season @ Home”
Who:STREB Extreme Action Company What: Livestreamed virtual presentation and fundraiser Where:STREB Zoom When: Friday, June 26, $0-$50, 7:00 Why: No other dance troupe in New York City uses space like the STREB Extreme Action Company. The Brooklyn-based company, founded in 1985 by artistic director Elizabeth Streb, uses small- and large-scale proprietary constructions to jump, run, tumble, and soar in such locations as the Park Ave. Armory (Kiss the Air!), the World Financial Center (Human Fountain), Gansevoort Plaza (Ascension), Lumberyard in the Catskills, and the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz, combining dance, gymnastics, athletics, and acrobatics in breathtaking ways. So what is such a company to do during a pandemic lockdown, with Streb and her “Action Heroes” sheltering in place?
On Friday, June 26, at 7:00, STREB goes virtual with “Action Heroes: Home Season @ Home,” a benefit fundraiser that will include classic archival footage, rarely seen pieces, and two new works choreographed specifically for Zoom, Horizon Line, which premiered last month and takes the troupe to a new, claustrophobic level, and the world premiere of Body Grammar. As always, Streb will be “pushing boundaries of what the human body can do,” with associate artistic director Cassandre Joseph, Jackie Carlson, Daniel Rysak, Tyler DuBoys, Justin Ross, Sophia Wade, Kairis Daniels, Brigitte Manga, Luciany Germán, and Matthew Keywas. If you’ve never seen Streb and her Pop Action movement vocabulary, you can watch this Ted Talk and check out Catherine Gund’s 2014 documentary, Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity. Admission to “Action Heroes: Home Season @ Home” is free with advance RSVP, although donations are appreciated; if you give fifty dollars or more, you’ll be invited to the live postshow talk with Streb and the company.
Xin Ying, Lloyd Knight, Lorenzo Pagano, and Leslie Andrea are among the Martha Graham dancers collaborating from their homes on reimagined Immediate Tragedy (photo by Ricki Quinn)
Who:The Soraya,Martha Graham Dance Company,Wild Up What: World premiere of digital dance Where:The Soraya Facebook page,Martha Graham Dance Company YouTube channel When: Friday, June 19, the Soraya, free, 7:00; Saturday, June 20, MGDC YouTube, 2:30 Why: During the pandemic, Martha Graham Dance Company has opened up its vast archives — the troupe was founded in 1926, and Graham created 181 ballets throughout her long, legendary career — presenting fabulous footage of classic recorded works, followed by live discussions with special guests. On June 19, MGDC is taking its next step with the world premiere of a new piece designed specifically for online viewing. Joining forces again with the Soraya, the California-based multidisciplinary performing arts organization, and chamber group Wild Up, the LA-based modern music collective, MGDC will be debuting Immediate Tragedy, a virtual reimagining of Graham’s lost 1937 solo, which was her artistic response to the Spanish Civil War. The ten-minute work will be performed by fourteen dancers (So Young An, Alessio Crognale, Laurel Dalley Smith, Natasha Diamond-Walker, Lloyd Knight, Charlotte Landreau, Jacob Larsen, Lloyd Mayor, Marzia Memoli, Anne O’Donnell, Lorenzo Pagano, Anne Souder, Leslie Andrea Williams, Xin Ying) and five musicians (Jiji, Richard Valitutto, Jodie Landau, Brian Walsh, Derek Stein) performing from wherever they are sheltering in place, set to a score composed and conducted by Christopher Rountree, the founder, conductor, and creative director of Wild Up.
Rare photograph of Martha Graham performing lost 1937 solo Immediate Tragedy (photo by Robert Fraser, 1937. Courtesy of Martha Graham Resources)
Choreographed by MGDC artistic director Janet Eilber and the dancers based on remnants of the 1937 original, including photos, musical notations, letters, and reviews, the work features digital design and editing by Ricki Quinn as it explores the current tragedies the world is experiencing; it will premiere June 19 at 7:00 on the Soraya’s Facebook page, followed June 20 at 2:30 on MGDC’s YouTube channel as part of the weekly Martha Matinees program, which has previously presented Lamentation, “Birth of the Modern: Martha Graham’s Revolution,” Letter to the World, and more. Each dancer was given four photos from which to develop their movement, while the musicians received snippets of notations from Cowell’s original, all using as inspiration a letter Graham wrote to Cowell in which she explained, “Whether the desperation lies in Spain or in a memory in our own hearts it is the same — I had been in a valley of despair, too. I felt in that dance I was dedicating myself anew to space, that in spite of violation I was upright and that I was going to stay upright at all costs.” Rountree said in a statement, “While the piece is really located in a ‘post Henry Cowell’ space, another big inspiration is: this moment itself, and the immediate tragedy of us all being apart. What are our modes of being together in this moment? What does it look like, what does it sound like and how do we deal with being apart like this?” The thirty-minute program will also include interviews with the collaborators and a screening of Graham and Cowell’s 1937 companion solo, Deep Song.
Real-life dancers Bobbi Jene Smith and Zina Zinchenko star in Boaz Yakin’s Aviva
Who: Boaz Yakin, Bobbi Jene Smith, Zina Zinchenko, Or Schraiber, Tyler Phillips What: Virtual theatrical release of Aviva (Boaz Yakin, 2019), with live Q&As Where:Angelika Film Center, $11.99 to rent film; Q&As free When: Streaming begins June 12; Q&A with director Boaz Yakin and cast members and choreographers Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, moderated by Robert Rosenberg, June 13 & 20, free with RSVP, 7:00; with Yakin and cast members Zina Zinchenko and Tyler Phillips, moderated by Rosenberg, June 14, free with RSVP, 7:00; with filmmakers June 18, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan,free with RSVP, 8:30 Why: “There’s nothing more depressing or lonely than being alone in New York City,” a character says in voice-over early on in Boaz Yakin’s intensely intimate and sexual Aviva, an SXSW2020 selection that is being released virtually June 12 through the Angelika online here in New York. A few moments later, the character adds, “And so we created an imaginary space together, a space outside of time and space, shared only by us.” Aviva is a tantalizing, introspective film seemingly made for the time of coronavirus, with so many people still sheltering in place, facing isolation and loneliness, seeking connections via new spaces such as Zoom.
Yakin, a New York-based Israeli American writer, director, and producer who previously made Fresh, Remember the Titans, and Max, collaborated extensively with dancer-choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith on the film, which uses an array of beautiful bodies — nearly every actor is introduced in the nude — to express ideas of personal identity, traditional gender roles, love, friendship, boundaries, and creativity. Zina Zinchenko plays Aviva, a free-spirited Jewish dancer in Paris who is set up with Eden (Tyler Phillips), a relatively uncommunicative and ultraserious New Yorker. In Hebrew, Aviva means springlike and innocent, while Eden is named after the Garden of Eden, particularly the promise that turns into a fall from grace.
Yakin brilliantly explores the masculine-feminine contradictions in us all by also having Smith portray Eden as a woman, and her real-life husband, Or Schraiber, play Aviva as a man. The other characters recognize the two Edens and two Avivas, speaking with them as if there is nothing odd about the situation. In addition, the four speak to each other, arguing and debating the state of their desires, which becomes especially intriguing, and confusing, in the numerous graphic sexual scenes that sometimes involve multiple men and women. Dances are intricately placed throughout the film as part of the drama; the actors don’t simply break out into song a la Hollywood musicals so much as the movement usually develops more organically as characters get close, touch hands, and then come together in gorgeously choreographed solos and pas de deux, as well as a fun, freewheeling scene in a club. Yakin regularly breaks the fourth wall as characters speak directly at the viewer and, occasionally, the boom mic and the cameramen enter shots; there is no reason for him to hide that this is a movie, and that it is about dance, among other things.
Smith and Aviva co-choreographer Schraiber are both veterans of Ohad Naharin’s storied Israeli troupe Batsheva; the former teaches Gaga, Naharin’s unique physical language, and her parents are mimes who teach movement for actors at Juilliard; the real lives of Smith and Schraiber were detailed in the extraordinary 2017 documentary Bobbi Jene. Smith, Schraiber, and Zinchenko have also appeared together in such Batsheva pieces as The Last Work, while Zinchenko and Phillips are both veterans of Sleep No More. The four protagonists’ familiarity with one another adds another level of intimacy; we sometimes feel like we’re intruding on real life, which contrasts effectively with Bobbi Gene, which is framed like a fiction film.
New Yorkers will get a cathartic kick when the story travels to Coney Island and Central Park, recognizing such familiar sites as the Wonder Wheel and the Hans Christian Andersen statue, popular spots come spring and summer. It’s also no coincidence that children are front and center in those scenes. For those of us missing the connections that dance, sex, and going to the movies bring us, Aviva satisfies many of those needs. There will be free, live Q&As with Yakin and members of the cast on June 13, 14, 18, and 20; the film can be rented online for $11.99.
Who: Eight arts institutions along upper Fifth Ave.. What: Virtual Museum Mile Festival Where: Individual websites, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook When: Tuesday, June 9, free 9:00 am – 9:00 pm Why: For forty-one years, New Yorkers have crowded onto Fifth Ave. between 82nd and 105th Sts. for the annual Museum Mile Festival, in which eight popular arts institutions open their doors for free, providing access to exhibitions and hosting live performances, workshops, panel discussions, and more between 6:00 and 9:00. With the pandemic lockdown still in place for museums, the festival goes virtual for 2020, taking place all day instead of just three hours, offering exhibition tours, curator and artist talks, family-friendly activities, and other special programs that people can experience from the comfort of their home. The live and prerecorded events are scheduled for 9:00 am to 9:00 pm on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook; follow #VirtualMuseumMile for specific info. Below are some of the highlights.
The Africa Center
“African/American: Making the Nation’s Table,” prerecorded videos with Ezra Wube, livestreamed conversation at 5:00 between culinary historian and exhibition’s curator Jessica B. Harris and exhibit advisor and Teranga executive chef and co-owner Pierre Thiam
Museum of the City of New York
“Curators from the Couch: Who We Are,” with chief curator and deputy director Sarah Henry, information designer Giorgia Lupi, and artist and computer scientist Brian Foo; MCNY Live, with cartoonist Roz Chast and novelist and Hugo Award winner N. K. Jemisin
El Museo del Barrio
Prerecorded interviews with artists, including iliana emilia garcia and Hiram Maristany; Collection-ary, with curators Rodrigo Moura and Susanna Temkin and artists Elia Alba and Scherezade García, 6:00; “¡Muevete!” with Nina Sky, free with advance RSVP, 8:00
The Jewish Museum
At-home art projects for families; audio tours with Isaac Mizrahi, Kehinde Wiley, Alex and Maira Kalman, Ross Bleckner and Deborah Kass, and others; “Movies That Matter: Teens Confront Segregation in America,” with artist and filmmaker Gillian Laub; interview with artist Rachel Feinstein about the exhibition “Rachel Feinstein: Maiden, Mother, Crone”; discussion with artists Rachel Feinstein and Lisa Yuskavage, filmmaker Tamara Jenkins, and curator Kelly Taxter; performance for families from the Paper Bag Players at Home
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Virtual tour of the exhibition “Contemporary Muslim Fashions”; video art-making lessons, including potato stamp pattern making inspired by Eva Zeisel; design talk “Exploring A.I.: Data Portraits,” with curator Ellen Lupton and artists R. Luke DuBois, Jessica Helfand, and Zachary Lieberman
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Virtual Stroller tour/talk for young children, 3:00; Guggenheim at Large, with curators talking about the collection; “Sketch with Jeff,” a hands-on activity for families with teaching artist Jeff Hopkins; a self-directed audio/visual experience via the Guggenheim Digital Audio Guide
Neue Galerie New York
Virtual tour of “Madame d’Or” with exhibition curator Dr. Monika Faber; a hands-on arts and crafts activity “Making Hats: Use What You Have,” with Deborah Rapoport; “Baking Linzer Cookies: A Recipe from Café Sabarsky”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube
Virtual tours of “Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara” and “Gerhard Richter: Painting After All”; prerecorded interview with artist Wangechi Mutu; design your own puppet and banjo using recycled materials; flower crown making; streaming of 2019 MetLiveArts dance performance by Silas Farley filmed in museum galleries
NYCB principal dancer Sara Mearns performs moving and heartfelt Storm for WPA Virtual Commissions series (photo by Joshua Bergasse)
Who:Sara Mearns What: World premiere of WPA virtual commission Where:Works & Process at the GuggenheimYouTube,Facebook,Instagram When: Sunday, June 7, free (donations accepted), 7:30 Why: Since May 1984, Works & Process has been presented at the Guggenheim primarily in the Peter B. Lewis Theater, where arts creators offer advance looks at upcoming productions and discuss their methodology, followed by a reception. With the pandemic lockdown, the popular program has moved online with Works & Process Artists (WPA) Virtual Commissions, in which dancers, choreographers, musicians, storytellers, and others make original pieces of no more than five minutes, from wherever they are sheltering in place. Streaming live on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram every Sunday and Monday night at 7:30, the videos are later archived for subsequent viewing, including Brandon Stirling Baker’s Oh, Light, Gus Solomons Jr.’s Fac(e)tude, and Dance Heginbotham’s 24 Caprices. The standout presentation thus far has been Jamar Roberts’s blistering, electrifying Cooped, five harrowing minutes of longtime Ailey dancer Roberts moving and shuddering in dark, confined spaces. Shot by Roberts with a haunting, grainy quality and set to a screeching score by David Watson on bagpipes and Tony Buck on drums, Cooped is a dramatic statement not only on isolation but on the black body, which at times here seems to float, trapped in the ether, glistening with sweat, desperate to break free.
On June 7, WPA will premiere Storm, a beautiful, heartbreaking complement to Cooped. Filmed and choreographed by Emmy winner Joshua Bergasse (SMASH,Sweet Charity) and performed by his wife, NYCB principal dancer Sara Mearns (Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Rodgers and Hart’s I Married an Angel for Encores!), the black-and-white piece takes place in their Lincoln Square apartment, where Mearns, wearing a black one-piece leotard, a loose-fitting white button-down shirt, and sneakers, glides across their relatively spacious living room while, on the soundtrack, Margo Seibert (The Thanksgiving Play,Octet) sings pianist Zoe Sarnak’s poignant ballad “The Storm Will Pass Soon Now.” At one point Mearns, who has been featured in works by Christopher Wheeldon, Kyle Abraham, Warren Carlyle, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and Benjamin Millepied in addition to Robbins, Balanchine, and others for NYCB, grasps her neck with both hands, seeking emotional comfort while echoing a canvas on the wall of a ballet dancer happily hugging a glorious swan. She jumps, twists, falls to the ground, sits on a couch with her two dogs, Ozzie and Rocky, and walks over to the large window, resting her hands on the frame as she gazes out with longing and Seibert sings, “Look out for hope and you’ll find some, you’ll see / Maybe it’s not where you thought it would be.” Whereas Roberts is cramped and restricted, his body never seen clearly in total, Mearns is caught in a more open, brighter space, which appears even larger when it is reflected in a television monitor that also shows the balcony, an escape to the outside world that is closed off to her. Sensitively edited by Lee Cherry, Storm concludes with a dramatic statement of its own, quieter and more hopeful but still aching. Together, the two works, made before the murder of George Floyd and the resulting protests, capture the zeitgeist of a nation at war with itself yet determined to move forward.
